Former Justice Of The Peace Will Be Charged With Killing Three People, Including Texas DA Mike McLelland
Texas district attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were both found shot and killed in their home in Kaufman County, Texas in March. They were discovered with multiple gunshot wounds after no one had heard from the couple in nearly 24 hours.
The death of the DA and his wife occurred two months after the death of one of McLelland’s top deputies, assistant district attorney Mark Hasse. McLelland had vowed to bring his assistant district attorney’s murderer to justice just before his own untimely death.
Authorities believed the murders were connected. Hasse, 57, was shot down in broad daylight outside the country courthouse on January 31 while on his way to work. Before his death, Hasse had started carrying a gun and never disclosed his co-workers why he feared for his life, only that he didn’t feel safe.
Former Justice of the Peace Eric Williams will be charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of Mike and Cynthia McLelland, and Mark Hasse, according to CBS News.
Williams, 46, was booked on Saturday into the Kaufman County Jail for making terroristic threats. He was retained on a $3 million bond. Bond was set at $1 million for the terroristic threat charge and at $1 million each for two charges of insufficient bond.
The arrest came after federal, state, and local authorities executed a warrant of Williams’ home and that of his in-laws Friday. Authorities reportedly zeroed in on Williams after emails sent to other county officials were linked to him.
Mike McLelland and Mark Hasse had a history with Williams, prosecuting and convicting him back in 2012 for burglary and theft by a public servant. Surveillance recorded Williams stealing computer equipment from a county building. He was sentenced to two months of probation and lost his justice of the peace position as a result of the conviction.
When questioned earlier on in the investigation, in his possible involvement in the shootings, Williams voluntarily underwent a test for gunshot residue (GSR) and turned over his cell phone. He denied having any connection to the deaths of Hasse and the McLellands.
